Evaporator.



UNITED STATES PATENT o FIon JOSEPH E. DUNN, 0F PHILADEL HIA,PENNSYLVANIA, AssIsNoIt To AMERIQAN EVAPORATOR coMPANY, or PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION" or PENNSYLVANIA.

EVAPORATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

Application filed July 29, 1909. Serial No. 510,265.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPI-I E. DUNN, a resident of the city ofPhiladelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain Improvements in Evaporators, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to evaporation by passing steam through heatedtubes and heating the liquid to be evaporated by causing the steam todraw it in a thin film along the inner surfaces of the tubes. I

In the operation as it has been practiced heretofore, it is necessary tomaintain a sufiicient supply of the liquid and steam to keep all of thetubes charged with a definite volume of steam flowing at a definite ratein order to raise the liquid through the tubes to their discharge ends.

In my improvements means are provided for regulating the areaof theevaporating surface so that it shall bear the ratio to the work to bedone which is desired to attain the desired efficiency. This isaccomplished by apparatus so constructed that the num ber of tubesrequired for efiicient evapora tion can be used and the remainder cutout or rendered inactive, the operation being flexible and susceptibleof modification so that it is adaptable to the quantity of liquid to beevaporated.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation ofevaporating mechanism embodying my improvements, and Fig. 2 is asectional elevation of a modified form of the same.

The apparatus, as shown in the drawings, comprises a shell 1 divided bythe sheets 2 and 3 into the liquid chamber 1, the heating chamber 5, andthe vapor chamber 6. Ver tical tubes 7, having their bodies disposed inthe heating chamber, pass through and are held by the sheets 2 and 8,the lower ends of the tubes extending below the sheet 2 so that theirinclined mouths 8 lie just below the normal level of the liquid supplyin the chamber 2 and the upper ends of the tubes extend above the sheet3 so that their outlets '9 shall be above the normal level of the liquidin the vapor chamber 6.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, a box 10 rests upon the sheet 3 and surroundsthe tops of a. number of the tubes 9. A butterfly valve 11 is supportedand turned by means of journals 12 in the open top of the box by turningthe handle 13 fixed to the valve. The valve is opened to its fullcapacity when the apparatus is working at its full capacity, so that allthe tubes will be fully charged with steam or vapor. But when theoperation does not provide the volume of steam or vapor necessary forlifting the film of liquid through the tubes, the valve is closed.

As shown in Fig. 2, the box 10, which rests on the sheet 3 and surroundsthe tops of a section of the tubes 7, has the valve 14 connected by thehinge 15 with the edge of its open top. The valve has the operatinghandle 16 connected thereto, whereby it is opened when the apparatus isworking at its full capacity and is closed When operating at its reducedcapacity.

It will be understood that the box and its valve are readily placed andremoved, hence any desired number of tubes may be closed off byselecting the desired size of box and valve. 7

Having described my invention, I claim:

7 1. An evaporator having a liquid chamber,

a va or chamber, tubes connecting said cham ers, and means for cuttingoff the communication between said chambers through a part of said tubeswhile maintaining the communication through the remainder of said tubes.

2. An evaporator havinga set of vertical tubes, means whereby vapor anda liquid are carried through said tubes, and means for Varying thenumber of said tubes in action proportionately, to the'volume of saidvapor.

3. An evaporator comprising a shell containing a liquid chamber, aheating chamber above said liquid chamber, and a vapor chamber abovesaid heating chamber, in combination with a set of evaporating tubespassing from said liquid chamber through said heating chamber into saidvapor chamber, and means for cutting ofl the communication between saidliquid and vapor chambers through part of said tubes while maintainingthe communication through the remainder of said tubes.

4. An evaporator having a liquid chamber, a vapor chamber, tubesconnecting said chambers, and a valve for closing the connection betweensaid chambers through several of said tubes without cutting off thecommunication through the remaining tubes.

5. An evaporator comprising a shell having sheets separating it into aliquid cham- 7 name this 28th day of July, 1909, in the presber, aheating chamber above said liquid i ence of the subscribing Witnesses.chamber, and an evaporating chamber above said heating chamber, incombination with a JOSEPH DUNN 5 box surrounding ends of several of saidtubes Witnesses:

and a valve for closing said box. JOHN THIEL,

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my J 0s. Gr. DENNY, J r.

